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Family coffee brewer launches bogus mayoral bid in NYC

Comedian Lewis Black thinks John Vassilaros makes “the finest cup of coffee ever served in the city of New York.” He also thinks Vassilaros, owner of Vassilaros & Sons coffee company, would make a fine fake mayor of the Big Apple.

Black’s appearance in a tongue-in-cheek promotional video is all part of a genius marketing campaign from Vassilaros & Sons and its agency, NSG/SWAT. The company has taken to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the campaign, which touts Vassilaros for New York’s absurdly contested mayoral race. There’s also—you guessed it—a microsite, vassilaros2013.com.

The site offers the disclaimer, “Unfortunately John Vassilaros has decided not to run for New York City’s mayor. He is too busy running New York City’s best coffee company.”

The idea behind the ads is that “we need John Vassilaros’s coffee to keep the city going,” said [Troy] Lumpkin, a co-creative director at NSG/SWAT who served as the creative director on the Vassilaros campaign. He compared the company to a utility as it provides New Yorkers with “a hard-working cup of coffee.”